“Oh, the places you'll go”: The psychological consequences of omission and misrepresentation for Native children

Abstract

All children navigate the world by searching for information in their sociocultural contexts (e.g., schools, media, laws) to make sense of their experiences and potential futures. In doing so, Native children, however, must contend with the legacy and ongoing oppression of their Peoples, communities, and ways of being. In this manuscript, we highlight how sociocultural contexts stemming from settler colonialism undermine Native futures. We detail how settler colonialism, specifically its manifestation in acts of omission and misrepresentation, impacts children's self and identity development, and intergroup relations. We close by acknowledging the importance of understanding development in context, and the power that the representational landscape can have for promoting paths toward positive child development and greater equity.